Wot In The Harri Potter?

9 - The Snake

Thanks to Lockhart's Duelling Club, I get an opportunity to vent my frustrations.

"Harri," Draco beams when I request we pair up, "I knew all you needed was ti-"

"RICTUSEMPRA!"

Ha! That'll teach him to use slurs.

I watch in satisfaction as he doubles up, wheezing. Somehow, he manages to aim his wand at me.

"TARANTALLEGRA!"

Ah, crap.

So, there is Draco, on the floor and gasping for breath from my Tickling Charm, and here I am, with my legs jerking around beyond my control in a kind of quickstep.

By the time Snape has restored order, Draco and I are glaring at one another, our friendship long forgotten about.

Snape seems to take personal satisfaction out of this, and abuses the situation to get Draco to set a snake on me.

"SERPENSORTIA!"

Screams erupt in the Hall as everyone around us begins to back away from the hissing snake which has exploded out of Draco's wand.

By the look of the horrified expression on Draco's face as his eyes meet mine, I am guessing he didn't know that was going to happen.

We all watch as it slithers towards a quaking Justin Finch-Fletchley, rising at him, and ready to strike.

Before Lockhart can wade in and make things worse, I tell the snake to scram.

Of course, it listens to me (I have a way with snakes, you see), and I beam brightly at having saved one of my peers, waiting for the inevitable applause.

But it never comes.

"What do you think you're playing at?" Justin shouts, his expression angry and scared as he glares at me.

Confused, I look around at the now silent Hall. Everyone is staring at me as though I'm something to be feared. Well, this is new, and I can't say I don't like it.

Draco grabs my arm and pulls me away. I hiss in Justin Finch-Fletchley's face on my way past. Ungrateful sod.

"Next time I'll tell it to kill!" I yell as Draco drags me out of the Hall.

He says nothing until we reach the Slytherin common room where he pushes me down into an armchair.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" I ask, genuinely confused.

"That you're a Parcelmouth."

"I'm a what?"

"A Parcelmouth," Draco repeats. "You can talk to snakes."

"Yeah, I know," I shrug. "I've always been able to, even before I knew I was a witch."

"And you never thought that was weird?"

"Um, I'm not being funny, Draco," I mutter, "but when has anything in my life been not weird? An old man literally murdered my parents in front of my baby eyes, tried to murder me, then Dumble-sodding-dore thought it best to ship me off to my abusive, wizard hating Muggle aunt and uncle who locked me up and lied to me all my childhood, before I am then 'rescued' by a hairy giant who tells me I have magical powers, but then drops me back at said abusive household without telling me I have to run through a fucking wall to get to school! Compared to all of that, Draco, talking to snakes seems pretty mundane!"

I am breathing heavily, looking up at Draco whose face has fallen.

"Was it you?" He says quietly. "Did you open the Chamber of Secrets?"